Argus
Son of Kralich and Riley, once slated to become an Erthus like his father, now widely considered a traitor for becoming a Diabolith. History Early Life Argus was born the older brother of two children under his parents, Kralich and Riley. From an early age, he exhibited much of the anger Kralich had been known to show himself early in his life, which, whilst at first tying the two together, made the two eventually come apart in their relationship together. Argus found it difficult to garner any good will from Kralich, and this fostered the earliest signs of bitterness in him. Argus was, however, profusely loved and cared for by Riley, who, having experienced her own hardships with Kralich's past and her own, as well as the death of her parents at a very young age, was determined to deliver the very best childhood she could for her offspring. She did her best to bridge the gap between Kralich and Argus, and sent her children to a school which, whilst not renowned for their attainment, helped develop their children more individually than academically. Argus appreciated the gesture, and not once in his life has he ever expressed anything other than gratitude towards her. He and his family were always in the public light as a result of Kralich's achievements and often Argus would shun the spotlight, preferring to remain undisturbed. As he rarely had anything to comment on matters, the public soon gave him what he wanted, and this would later, ironically, prove to be of great annoyance to him. When Tarzal grew older and inherited more of Riley's gentleness, naturally making him easier to fuss over by his parents, this provided a catalyst for Argus' dark descent in his personality. Struggles with Family From the start, Argus was deeply jealous of Tarzal, who inherited more of his parents' looks, whilst Argus inherited their intelligence. Tarzal was much kinder and gentler, and was adored in the Confederacy as the child hero who saved his schoolmates from an ancient Bohrok. The praise he received not only from the public, but from his own parents, spurred Argus on to develop a deep hatred for his brother. His relationship with Kralich worsened with every passing year and his father, not understanding the irony of the situation, often treated Argus badly as well. Riley did her best to look after her children equally, but Argus' sour nature meant he was naturally harder to please and Riley's effort would sometimes go unnoticed by him. He did not attribute any bitterness towards her, but instead directed the lack of attention at Tarzal, believing he was somehow tricking their parents into treating him more kindly. Finally, the growing anger and frustration culminated in an encounter where he attempted to kill Tarzal. His brother was so distressed by the ordeal he laid down and told Argus to kill him if it was what Argus needed to do, to which Argus responded by turning himself in, being horrified at what he'd become. Kralich apprehended him and sent his own son off to an institution for troubled children, where Argus spent the next three years until just before his sixteenth human birthday. Argus had been born on Riley's birthday and it was a day of unparalleled peace from Argus, most years, as he reveled in the attention afforded to him by his mother on the day. However, whilst Argus had been in the institution, he had not had this opportunity, and had grown steadily darker and bitterer. Kralich had him released as Riley had become gravely ill, quoted as being due to the family struggles and Riley's inability to handle the elemental energy she still possessed. Operations and treatments to better her illness fared poorly, and Kralich had been told Riley would be dead within the year. Argus' father had hoped this engagement would be a bonding experience for the two, but Argus told his father how he despised him for taking away three years of time Argus could have spent with his mother before she died. On Argus' sixteenth human birthday, Riley was rushed off to an emergency treatment ward in a hospital, and the entire family spent hours beside her deathbed as she slowly faded away. Riley had called for Argus to tell her she loved him a final time, but before she could finish her sentence, Argus ran from the room in a turmoil of emotions, whilst Riley called after him. She died shortly after, and many who witnessed Argus claim that, inside, he died too. Great Betrayal Argus attended Riley's funeral, where friends and family from Earth were, for the exceptional circumstance, made aware of the Imperians and allowed to witness the procession. As her element had been fire, she was burnt and her ashes scattered into the winds of Earth. Argus had stood apart from his brother and father during the ceremony, instead mourning quietly in the corner, and did not remain for the after funeral celebration of her life. When he was alone, the spirit of Tyranis contacted him and manipulated Argus' relative dislike of his father and brother into a raging hatred. Argus was driven into a rage, whereby he released a huge burst of fire energy which destroyed the funeral procession. As Kralich neared to recover Argus and take him away from Tyranis, a shadow hand formed around Argus and teleported him away. In Tyranis' chamber, Argus began undergoing the transformation into a Erthus, but midway Tyranis ejected shadow energy at him, corrupting the transformation so he retained the stature of a Makori, but gained the elemental strength of a burgeoning Diabolith. Tyranis promised Argus many things, amongst them riches, a chance for ultimate power, and vengeance. Argus, however, demanded that when Tyranis had been revived, he would reanimate Riley, much like Skarthion had been. Tyranis agreed to this, and Argus swore his allegiance to the Prime Evil. He became Tyranis' protégé. Servant of Tyranis Now firmly in the clutches of Tyranis, Argus was immediately set to work recounting everything he knew about the Confederacy, the movements of Erthus, and anything else he might have overheard prior to his corruption. There was little real information available to Tyranis, and so, in order to better steel Argus for the uses Tyranis had in mind for him, he was banished to the Domain of Strife, with the Prime Evil overseeing his struggles personally to decide when Argus had sufficiently toughened himself. Tyranis had not wholly believed Argus capable of surviving the Domain, but Argus fared much better than he could have predicted-his sheer hatred for his family was a tremendous driving force, and it was not long until Argus had proven he never required the Domain in order to harden his spirit in the first place. Impressed and encouraged, Tyranis removed him from the Domain and began outfitting him to match the standards of the Apex Dozen. His enchanted helm was enhanced such that any attack now went through him as if he were intangible, his armor was reinforced with Magnum Steel, and his weapons were replaced with an Uchigatana which could release immeasurably strong bursts of shadow energy. Taking the title of Diabolith Traytus, Argus began his operations for Tyranis. He clashed with Kortarex regularly for his father’s attention, but the two later learned to work together due to their similar personalities, a development pleasing Tyranis. The two have since been sent out to recruit other empires to their cause, by means of brutality or by diplomacy, in order to supplement the armies of the Apex Dozen. Tools and Abilities Makori As a Makori, Argus wore standard light armor, although his was slightly stronger in stature as a result of his advanced elemental capability. He carried a red sword made out of steel, with which he trained every day. He also possessed a shield which would block limited elemental attacks and was highly durable. He was unable to release any meaningful amount of elemental energy, but he did wear an enchanted helm which allowed him to block incoming attacks provided he knew from where they were coming from, although this take great concentration on his part. Diabolith With his absorption of Tyranis’ elemental energy, Argus’ capabilities were magnified tenfold, becoming almost as powerful as one of the Apex Dozen (and possessing the possibility of outmatching them, in time). He wielded an Uchigatana-like sword which could release blasts of shadow energy, and he himself had full access to a range of shadow and fire powers. His armor was heavily reinforced with Magnum Steel, and his helm was enhanced to allow him to phase through any physical attack. Personality Makori Argus was a deeply disturbed and irritated individual who feared for his mother and despised his brother. He was envious and easily antagonized, often to violent effect, but had real love for his mother and could not experience anything but affection towards her. He was, however, resentful of his father, and this contributed to his situation once Riley was dead. Diabolith Tyranis manipulated Argus’ anger and turned him to his own side, despite Kralich’s best efforts to rescue him. Tyranis encouraged his anger and hate towards his family to fester, but was careful not to mention Riley, whom he knew was a subject of contention for his apprentice. Argus spent the majority of his time practicing his powers and planning for how to eliminate his father and brother. When he could, he also practiced necromancy with what little help Tyranis, Skarthion, and Bartherious would give him, with his end goal being to resurrect Riley. Category:Magnus Imperus